3-Step Plan To Lose Weight After 40

[sidebar] Fat makes you fat. No, wait, carbs are the enemy. The truth is, no matter your age, when it comes to weight loss, it's all about calories: You have to burn off more than you take in to shed pounds.

But over the years, that message has gotten lost, which may be partially to blame for our increased calorie consumption. Women now eat 22% more calories than they did in 1971, for an average of 1,877 per day. That may sound low, but only 19% of adults are highly active. This means that few women burn enough calories to warrant the amount they eat, and certainly not enough for weight loss. (The lowdown: Every pound of body weight burns through 10 to 15 calories daily; only 10 if you're inactive, but up to 15 if you exercise 30 to 60 minutes most days.) When you're guessing how many calories you can eat, being off by just 100 calories a day can keep you 6 to 10 pounds overweight. Experts say this is precisely why women in their 40s are 25 pounds heavier now compared with 1960—and why getting calories right is the only way to reach your ideal weight for your age. Our guide will show you how.

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Step 1: Find Out How Many Calories You Eat

At any age, women often underestimate how many calories they really eat, so follow these suggestions

Track, Don't CountYou don't need to become a human calculator, but you should get a baseline idea of what you're consuming every day. (A survey of more than 1,000 people found that only 13% knew how many calories they eat a day.) The best way is to record each morsel you take in, for a day or two. Getting a grasp on exactly what you're eating can help you find out where the bulk of your calories comes from. Then you can make simple substitutions that shave off calories without sacrificing taste or satisfaction and achieve weight loss. For example, trading a handful of pretzels for 3 cups of air-popped popcorn sprinkled with 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese saves about 115 calories and has loads more flavor while tripling your portion size.

Read Labels RightThe Nutrition Facts info on a package lists the calorie count in one serving. But don't forget to compare that with the amount you actually eat or drink; many packages contain two servings or more. For example, a 20-ounce bottle of organic lemonade contains 110 calories per serving, and 2 1/2 servings per bottle. Drink the whole thing and you racked up 275 calories; that's nearly 20% of a day's calorie needs for most women.

Look for total calories, not typeSurveys show that women look at grams of fat and sugar before calories, a habit that can mislead you into eating more than you should—especially when it comes to reduced-fat or low-sugar foods. For example, three regular Chips Ahoy! cookies provide 160 calories. Four of the reduced-fat version have 200. And sugar free doesn't mean calorie free. Five tiny Hershey's sugar-free dark chocolate candies provide 190 calories and 1 cup of Edy's no-sugar-added Caramel Chocolate Swirl ice cream contains 220.

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Step 2: Determine How Many Calories You Need

Knowing your ideal goal aids weight loss

Use this simple equation to find your daily calorie needs

Your weight goal: ________

Multiply by:

x 10 if you don't exercise at all

x 13 if you rarely exercise or only play the occasional weekend golf or tennis game

x 15 if you regularly exercise (swim, walk, or jog) for 30 to 60 minutes most days of the week

Total daily calories: ________

Aim for this number every day to reach and maintain your weight goal.

To up your daily calorie allotment, at any age, move more. Going from being inactive to walking your dog every other day means you can multiply your weight goal by 13 rather than 10. For a 150-pound woman, that's an increase of 450 calories per day: So you could add one slice of whole wheat toast, 1 tablespoon of almond butter, 1 cup of grapes, and 1/4 cup of semisweet chocolate chips to your daily diet without gaining.

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Step 3: Make Smart Choices All Day

It's easier than you think. Just remember a few key tips around this sample menu. The meals total 1,600 calories, the number most moderately active women need per day to support a healthy weight.

Opt for whole fruit over juice. One cup of orange juice has more than 2 1/2 times the calories of the tangerine. Plus, it's totally portion controlled.

Choose bread with holes in it. There's more air (and fewer calories!).

Have only one high-fat food (such as full-fat dressing, nuts, croutons, or cheese) per meal. High-fat foods pack more calories into a smaller serving, which adds up quickly.

Make veggies half the bulk of your meals. Produce contains a lot of water, which makes it naturally low in calories.

Pick "slippery" salad dressings such as oil and vinegar or reduced-fat vinaigrette. They coat your salad more easily than thick ones like blue cheese or Russian, so you can use less.

Always measure these foods: rice, cereal, peanut butter, and oil. They're hard to eyeball and calorie dense. A heaping cup of rice has 25% more calories than a level one.

Snack on a baseball-size portion of fresh fruit. It provides about 50 to 100 calories, the amount in only three pretzel twists.

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